Active wear garment attachment mechanisms, garments including same and methods for flattening skin

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods are provided to smooth the skin of the wearer of a garment that otherwise presents as excess skin. Generally, an item of clothing interfaces with a resistive structure, such that when the skin has been pulled taut, the restorative force of the skin is at least counterbalanced by force in the opposite direction. The interfacing structure provides sufficient adherence, adhesion and/or friction to the user&#39;s skin such that the interface structure remains in place. The formerly loose skin is then held taut. In one preferred embodiment, the first resistive member comprises left directed chevron shaped resistive member and the second resistive member is a right directed chevron shaped resistive member.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/621,344, filed Jan. 24, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improved active wear garment attachment mechanisms, garments including the mechanisms, and methods for flattening skin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The presence of excess skin, loose skin, lax skin, and/or skin which has lost its elasticity (collectively ‘excess skin’) often presents in individuals who have had their skin stretched or extended for some period of time, typically months or years, yet later the extension of the main body is reduced or removed. One example involves pregnancy, where during the gestational period the maternal skin of the abdomen is stretched due to the presence of the fetus. After the child is born, and therefore the cause of the extension is removed, the maternal abdomen skin does not always reduce to pre-pregnancy condition, and the mother then presents to have excess abdominal skin. This condition can exist even if the woman's muscles are in excellent shape. In yet another example, a person who was obese for a significant period of time, but later undergoes significant weight loss, such as through bariatric surgery or other intensive weight loss, may present as having excess skin in multiple areas of the body, typically including the abdomen, neck and elbows.

Historically, those with this skin issue often had to resort to surgery to remedy the condition. In the case of a formerly pregnant woman, a ‘tummy tuck’ procedure would be performed. The procedure is invasive, and requires the surgeon to make a long transverse abdominal incision from hip to hip, after which the surgeon stretches the abdominal skin downward, and then sutures the now relatively taut skin. This procedure can leave a significant scar from hip to hip, and relocates the position of the navel. Additionally, surgical procedures have many attendant risks, such as infection, other adverse reaction to the procedure or the anesthesia, and consist of an upwards of 6 hour procedure.

Various compression type garments serve to compress a person's body. One example is a girdle, or more modern compression type garments such as Spanx. However, these compression type garments do not solve the presentation of excess skin. Yet other systems provide to affix clothing to the skin, such as dual sided tape which serves the modesty function of attempting to ensure that the outer layer of clothing remains close enough to the wearer of the garment that modesty is maintained.

No adequate non-surgical solution has yet been provided. The current invention solves this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus and methods are provided to smooth the skin of the wearer of a garment that otherwise presents as excess skin. Generally, an item of clothing interfaces with a resistive structure, such that when the skin has been pulled taut, the restorative force of the skin is at least counterbalanced by force in the opposite direction. The interfacing structure provides sufficient adherence, adhesion and/or friction to the user's skin such that the interface structure remains in place. The formerly loose skin is then held taut.

A clothing garment provides for tensioning skin from a first state comprising excess skin to a second state comprising tensioned taut skin, where the tensioned taut skin generates a force of restoration (Frestoration) back to the first state. Preferably, the garment includes at least a first attachment region and a second attachment region. A first resistive member is attached to the first attachment region of the garment, the first resistive member being attached to the first attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration. A second resistive member is attached to the second attachment region of the garment, the second resistive member being attached to the second attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration. When the excess skin is tensioned from the first state into the second state of taut skin, the resistive force of the garment, first resistive member and second resistive member is greater than or equal to the force of restoration.

In one preferred embodiment, the first resistive member comprises left directed chevron shaped resistive member and the second resistive member is a right directed chevron shaped resistive member.

In one embodiment, a two sided tape is provided. Optionally, the tape may interface on one side with a user's garment, and on the other side with the user's skin. By providing sufficient resistive force in a direction opposite to the restorative force of the stretched skin, the user's skin remains taut. Various forms of resistive structures are described, including but not limited to dots, linear structures and non-linear structures. Adhesives may be optionally utilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a user presenting excess skin on the abdomen, neck and elbows.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of excess skin in the natural or non-tensioned state.

FIG. 2B is perspective view of the skin of FIG. 2A, but in a tensioned state.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of resistive structures formed on a base garment structure.

FIG. 3B is a cross sectional view of a base garment having multiple oppositely directed chevron shaped resistive structures.

FIG. 3C is a plan view of a bra base garment to which a horizontally disposed strip includes a series of oppositely opposed chevron shaped resistive structures.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional drawing with force vectors depicted.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional drawing of a ledge shaped retaining structure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the transmission of force in a user's garment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of force transmission in a garment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a butterfly embodiment, including a depiction of opposing force vectors.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an interface including force vectors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a user presenting excess skin on the abdomen 10, neck 12 and elbows 14. FIGS. 2 A and B are perspective views of excess skin, first, in the natural or non-tensioned state (FIG. 2A) and then in the tensioned state (FIG. 2B). Skin 20 has ridges 22 comprising the excess skin to be smoothed. Resistive members 24 interface with the skin 20. As shown in FIG. 2A, an upward force (Fup) is applied in one direction and a downward force (Fdown) is applied in the opposite direction. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the use of a direction label of ‘up’ and ‘down’ are intended to indicate opposite directions, and would therefore also apply to a label of ‘left’ and ‘right’. The opposite forces are in an amount sufficient to present the skin 20 in a smooth condition (see FIG. 2B). The application of the oppositely directed forces result in movement of the resistive members 24 away from one another, shown with the left resistive member 24 having moved by an amount Δ x to the left comparing FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B. Similarly, the right hand resistive member 24 having moved by an amount Δ y to the right comparing FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B. The resistive member 24 may be in various forms, such as a tape. As shown, the tape is generally rectangular, but may be of varying length, width, thickness and aspect ratio.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of alternative resistive structures formed on a base garment structure 30. As shown, various dot resistive structures 32 may be applied on the fabric 30, and suitably affixed to the garment 30, whether by sewing, other mechanical fastening and/or adhesives and glues. Linear resistive structures 34 may have a length greater than their width. Non-linear resistive structures 36, 38 may be of various forms. As shown, the non-linear resistive structures 36, 38 are in the shape of a chevron. The dimensions of the resistive structures may be sized based upon the force required. By way of example, the dot structures may preferably be from 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter (but may also be smaller or larger in diameter). The linear structures may preferably be from 1 to 5 cm (but may also be shorter or longer). The chevron structures may preferably be from 5 mm to 5 cm for the length of one chevron arm (but may also be shorter or longer). The height in the ‘z’ direction up from the plane of the base garment structure may preferably in the range from 0.3 mm to 3 mm, more preferably in the range from 1 mm to 2 mm (though they may be shorter or taller).

FIG. 3B is a cross sectional view of a base garment having multiple oppositely directed chevron shaped resistive structures. The base garment 60 provides underlying support to interface and hold the resistive member(s) 62. As shown in this embodiment, the resistive members 62 are shown as left directed chevron resistive members 64 and right directed chevron resistive members 66. Again, the designation of ‘left’ and ‘right’ may be defined by the orientation of the base garment 60 and the placement of the resistive members 62, such that ‘up’ and ‘down’ may be more properly descriptive of the spatial orientation. As shown in FIG. 3B, there are 4 left directed chevron resistive members 64 on the right (the term ‘left directed’ being a reference to the chevron having the ‘V’ pointing in the leftward direction). These left directed chevron resistive members 64 may be deemed associated with a first portion or first attachment portion of the base garment 60. Likewise, there are multiple right directed chevron resistive members 66, again the term ‘right directed’ being a reference to the chevron having the ‘V’ portion pointing in the rightward direction. These right directed chevron resistive members 66 may be deemed associated with a second portion or second attachment region of the base garment 60.

FIG. 3C is a plan view of a bra base garment to which a horizontally disposed strip includes a series of oppositely opposed chevron shaped resistive structures. The base garment has the configuration of a bra or undergarment, having at the lower edge a portion to which the resistive member 62 may be affixed. As shown the resistive member 62 is generally rectangular, formed in the shape of a tape crossing the entire base length of the bra (though the resistive member 62 may be shorter than the entire length of the bra so as to only partially transverse the bottom of the bra. As shown, there are a combination of left directed chevron resistive members 64 and right directed chevron resistive members 66. As shown, there are on the order of 50 chevrons, though the number may vary based upon materials, coefficients of friction and other items affecting the mechanical forces.

By way of the method of fabrication, a base garment would have a resistive member applied to it. The attachment force between the resistive member and the base garment should be greater than any forces what would apply when the combination garment is used to tension excess skin. Namely, the resistive member should not separate or delaminate from the base garment when in use for the function of tensioning excess skin.

The method of use of the combined garment is as follows. The user would place the garment on as used in the base garment operation. The user would then tension the excess skin and tuck the excess skin under the resistive member. The resistive member and garment apply a resistive force at least sufficient to maintain the now tensioned excess skin relative to the resistive member by overcoming the restoration force of the skin, preferably where the resistive force is greater than or equal to the restoration force.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional drawing with force vectors depicted. The structure of FIG. 4 will be described in connection with the left hand half of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the garment 30 disposed away from the skin. The dot resistive structures 32 are now shown in cross section in FIG. 4. The dot resistive structures 32 interface with the skin 20. Similarly, the linear resistive structures 34 are disposed between the garment 30 and the skin 20. The resistive structures serve to tension the skin in towards the left. As shown, a force of retraction (Fretraction) is attempting to pull the skin into its non-tensioned state. The upward force (Fup) must be sufficient (equal to or greater than) the Fretraction. The resistive structures collectively provide sufficient force at the interface of the skin and the resistive structures 32, 34, such that the skin does not slip to the right. The resistive force is optionally provided by a frictional force, grip, purchase, tensioning, and tautness or generally by pulling the skin in opposite directions and providing an attachment material to hold the skin in place. The amount of skin friction for various materials is documented in various studies and journals. See, e.g., Friction of Human Skin Against Different Fabrics for Medical Use, Vilhena, Luis, et al., Lubricants 2016, 4.6: doi: 10.3390/lubricants 4010006, incorporated herein by reference as if fully set out herein. Various anchor points on the body may be used to fix or affix the resistive structures. Resistive structures may be positioned to contact the user in a localized area, such as the upper abdomen or lower chest for providing upward force, and the lower stomach area to provide downward force. The resistive materials may be disposed to contact the front of the user, or may be disposed entirely around the user, such as in a band or belt.

As to all of the resistive structures described herein, the resistive structures are formed of biocompatible materials, such as medical grade rubber or neoprene, and preferably hypoallergenic. They are preferably washable, long lasting and comfortable for the wearer. Preferably, they are waterproof and sweat proof, and may include wicking capabilities. Further, they are preferably not sticky, but may use adhesives to adhere to the user and/or the garment.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional drawing of a ledge shaped retaining structure. A generally planar portion of the garment 40 ends with a ledge structure 42. A resistive member 44 is then hooked by the ledge to result in the transmission of the upward force. FIG. 6, is a perspective view of the transmission of force in a user's garment. Straps 46 provide for the continued upward transmission of the force Fup. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a force transmission in a garment, such as in the nature of a sports bra. The inventions disclosed herein may be used with any form of item of clothing, including but not limited to: undergarments, lingerie, two piece swimsuits, active wear: sports bra, leggings, and dance wear

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a butterfly embodiment, including a depiction of opposing force vectors. Such an arrangement would be suited to tension the skin on the neck. As shown, FIG. 8 shows the back of the user's neck. The resistive portions 50 of the structure contact the skin in the manner described in FIG. 4. In the instance of FIG. 8, the resistive portions 50 are tensioned towards each other such that the skin on the forward portion of the neck is smoothed under the tensioning force.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an interface including force vectors for use on an elbow. The force vectors are in opposite direction, resulting in the tensioning of the skin. 

What is claimed:
 1. A clothing garment for providing tensioning skin from a first state comprising excess skin to a second state comprising tensioned taut skin, where the tensioned taut skin generates a force of restoration (Frestoration) back to the first state, the garment including at least a first attachment region and a second attachment region, comprising: a first resistive member attached to the first attachment region of the garment, the first resistive member being attached to the first attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration, the first resistive member including one or more left directed chevron shaped resistive members, a second resistive member attached to the second attachment region of the garment, the second resistive member being attached to the second attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration, the second resistive member including one or more right directed chevron shaped resistive members, wherein when the excess skin is tensioned from the first state into the second state of taut skin, the resistive force of the garment, first resistive member and second resistive member is greater than or equal to the force of restoration.
 2. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the first resistive member further includes a dot shaped resistive member.
 3. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the second resistive member further includes a dot shaped resistive member.
 4. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the first resistive member further includes a linear resistive member.
 5. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the second resistive member further includes a linear shaped resistive member.
 6. The clothing garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is a bra.
 7. The clothing garment of claim 6 wherein the bra is a sports bra.
 8. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the garment is a pair of shorts.
 9. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the garment is a pair of pants.
 10. A clothing garment for providing tensioning skin from a first state comprising excess skin to a second state comprising tensioned taut skin, where the tensioned taut skin generates a force of restoration (Frestoration) back to the first state, the garment including at least a first attachment region and a second attachment region, comprising: a first resistive member attached to the first attachment region of the garment, the first resistive member being attached to the first attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration, a second resistive member attached to the second attachment region of the garment, the second resistive member being attached to the second attachment region with a strength greater than Frestoration, wherein when the excess skin is tensioned from the first state into the second state of taut skin, the resistive force of the garment, first resistive member and second resistive member is greater than or equal to the force of restoration.
 11. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the first resistive member is a chevron shaped resistive member.
 12. The clothing garment of claim 2 wherein the second resistive member is a chevron shaped resistive member.
 13. The clothing garment of claim 3 wherein the first resistive member is a left directed chevron shaped resistive member and the second resistive member is a right directed chevron shaped resistive member.
 14. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the first resistive member is a dot shaped resistive member.
 15. The clothing garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is a bra.
 16. The clothing garment of claim 6 wherein the bra is a sports bra.
 17. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the garment is a pair of shorts.
 18. The clothing garment of claim 1 wherein the garment is a pair of pants. 